Audit Intern Review

I really enjoyed my placement at KPMG. From the beginning I was made to feel very welcome by all of the staff at the home office. Unfortunately due to an error in organisation I was unable to spend the first 3 weeks at the client site where the experience I would have received would have been more relevant to graduate job. As a result of this I felt that the first half of the internship could have been better, though I appreciate this was a 'one off' error.

Due to the relatively demanding nature of the recruitment process the firm can be sure that the interns they take in are going to be able to cope with an important and fairly large workload right from the beginning. This was something that I relished as we were able to dive straight into exactly what a graduate would would be working on at the client site. This made me feel very valued at the company as you could be sure that the work you were being given was important.

At no point did I feel too greatly under pressure or as if I was falling behind. As I mentioned before you are given a significant workload straight away and in most cases you would learn by doing. My surrounding staff were always very happy to help with understanding anything and wouldn't mind explaining concepts multiple times to consolidate understanding. I was also encouraged to ask questions beyond the scope of my own work to gain a greater understanding of the entire audit process.

As a biology undergraduate, the information that I was learning was not specifically relevant to audit work and therefore would not be much help in my degree! However in terms of the skills i developed over the placements, namely communication and analytical skills, I am confident that these will be useful in almost any work I undertake in future.

The internship starts with an induction day at the canary wharf office, this gives interns the opportunity to meet before starting work in a very relaxed environment. It is very easy to keep in touch with the other interns as you are added to the inter-company messaging system on the first day which means you can ask each other questions if there are things you don't understand or are worried about. Following this, interns return to their home offices and from then on will spend most of the time at the client sites, as you would in the graduate role. It is here that you will gain the most relevant experience and the workload begins to ramp up depending on how quickly you are progressing and coping. I believe that the insight is very well structured in most cases.

The atmosphere in my home office was very friendly and welcoming, though quiet due to the nature of the work being completed there. At the client site the work involves a far greater degree of communication between clients and with colleagues within the audit team. I really enjoyed the team I worked with for the 3 weeks at the client site, they created an efficient yet enjoyable atmosphere to work in and were willing to answer any questions or queries I had. They also showed an interest in how I was getting on during the internship and outside of it as well as providing me with their honest thoughts and feelings about their time at KPMG giving me a view of the job through a graduate's perspective.

When you are working on site you are part of a genuine audit team, this means that your colleagues are under pressure to complete their audit work whilst making sure you are coping with and handling the work well. As a result I was really impressed with how willing the surrounding staff were to help me understand the work, they invested a great deal of time into explaining some tricky accounting concepts (new to me as I do not study a finance based degree). At the beginning and middle of the placement we undertook training days at the Canary Wharf office where all of the interns from the 3 sectors in the region were invited. On these training days we worked on our presentation and communication skills through challenging group exercises in preparation for the final interviews.

During the internship I believe I gained a good understanding as to what it would be like to have a full time job within the audit department, through my own experience and by talking to colleagues at all different levels (e.g school leavers, graduates, managers). Having done so I decided that the particular role in which I was an intern was not the right one for me, however the firm do offer you the chance to remain in the firm and change sectors which is a process I am currently undertaking. So far they have been very helpful in accomodating my request.

The company culture at KPMG is something that really stood out for me, hence why I am keen to remain within the firm despite not wanting to apply for the graduate role in my initial sector. Through witnessing communications between colleagues at the home office and on site it is clear to see that everyone knows each other very well and I believe this has a hugely positive impact. The staff regularly organise socials, one of which I attended, and even trips abroad. Through the inter-company communication system it is very easy to talk to any colleague whether they be on site at the clients or at any other office and from talking to my surrounding staff it seems that they all keep in touch with employees at many different offices, which really reinforces the concept of the KPMG community.

As i mentioned I previously I have not decided to pursue a career in the particular sector that I undertook my internship in. I feel that I was give a realistic insight in the audit sector over the 6 week period and I eventually decided that my best strengths would be suited to a different role which I am now in the process of applying for. I believe that it is very difficult to know exactly what you want to do without experiencing the work first hand and I believe that this internship was extremely beneficial in shaping my future career path.

Although the process of applying for any expenses reimbursement is a nightmare to navigate due to their old and complicated programme, I was fully reimbursed for all expenses including travel by car and train and the £4 a day allowance for food at client site.

During the 6 week period, interns spent 2 days at the Canary Wharf office with the other interns working on group projects and developing relevant skills. There was also a bowling social for the interns one evening in London and a beach volleyball social with my colleagues from the home office.

Both of the social events were extremely enjoyable, the atmosphere was very relaxed on both occasions and it is a great time to talk to other employees within the company, of ranging age groups, about their experiences at KPMG.

By the sounds of it there are many opportunities that employees can get get involved in outside of work such as sports teams, societies and trips away. This is something that I would be very excited to get involved in as a keen sportsman but obviously did not have time over the placement period.

I would definately recommend the vacation scheme to a friend. Although the application process was long and quite intense at times, I understand why it has to be so in order to recruit the most capable interns. I received hands on experience right from the beginning and you are really invited into to explore the KPMG community. Although I do not intend to work within my initially chosen sector, my experience of the company has made me even more encouraged to pursue a future within the firm. Having spoken to a variety of employees it seems that there are many opportunities to move around the firm and progress quickly if you work hard and I believe that it has been the ideal start to my working career.